Via Francigena, day 16

Rest day in Bolsena

Cathie checks out the limpid waters of Lake Bolsena.

We haven’t moved much today.

Last night we had dinner at this scenic spot on the lake shore.

At first they put us at the table right at the end, where one of was looking at the setting sun. It was blinding and we had to be asked to be shifted - not once, but twice.

We had the feeling they didn’t really care.

The food was ok, but way overpriced, so we came away feeling a little disgruntled.

This morning we slept in until after 7am and had a relaxed breakfast downstairs.

We hit the water soon after 9am. Already the air temperature was in the mid-20s and the water was about the same. We didn’t get too carried away, but swam a few hundred metres in a very relaxed mode.

Lake Bolsena is the largest volcanic lake in Europe, with the most recent activity being about 100BC. It has a surface area of 113 sq km. For New Zealanders wanting a comparison, Taupo is 616, Wanaka 192, Pukaki 179 and Hawea 141.

On the other hand, Lake Superior is 82,000 sq km and Lake Ontario 19,000.

For all that, there was plenty of room for us to swim without running into anything.

Next it was the pool.

There was no one around.

Just a few statues.

I went up to our room for something and Cath looked fairly comfortable.

Eventually, our rumbling stomachs dragged us away.

We dawdled back up the tree-lined street to the sandwich shop we’d visited yesterday.

A glass of wine and a panini was enough for me. Cathie has formed an attachment to Aperol Spritz.

You can get an idea of the size of the trees along the street from this one beside our lunch stop.

They were pretty friendly there, now that we were repeat customers, so we asked for recommendations of places to eat. Our friendly host said he wouldn’t eat anywhere in town, as all the prices were hiked up for tourists.

That explained why all our wandering and online trolling hadn’t revealed any likely spots.

We eventually decided on a pizzeria down by the lake but in an obscure lane. We shall see how that goes.

We spent the rest of the afternoon in reading and siesta mode.

As the heat shows no sign of abating, the plan for tomorrow is to hit the road at 6am.

The hotel will pack us a bag of food in lieu of breakfast.

Tomorrow doesn’t look too extreme - 18km, gradually rising towards the end towards the hill town of Montefiascone.

We’ve equipped ourselves with bug spray, so it’s just the heat we have to worry about. At least that’s what we hope.

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